the civil rights movement. essential question what were the goals and tactics of the different...
TRANSCRIPT
The Civil Rights
Movement
Essential Question
What were the goals and tactics of the different
leaders of the Civil Rights movement?
Jackie Robinson
Born in Cairo, Georgia, in 1919. Robinson’s family moved to California after his father deserted the family. At the University of California in Los Angeles, Robinson starred in football, track, basketball and baseball. In 1944, Robinson played in the Negro leagues on a team called the Kansas City Monarchs.
42
Playing for the Dodgers
Branch Rickey, president and General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, noticed Robinson’s exceptional talent.
In 1946 Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson.
Jackie Robinson, at the age of 27, became the first Black Baseball player in Major League history.
TeammatesOne game in Cincinnati the crowd was especially insulting. They were yelling unimaginable insults at Jackie Robinson.Jackie’s teammate Pee Wee Reese recognized that the crowd was getting to Jackie.Pee Wee Reese walked across the field and put his arm around Jackie. The two smiled at each other. His compassion silenced the crowd.
Truman De-Segregates the Military, 1947
Following World War II, Truman ended military segregationProtests arose from the South = DixiecratsThe Korean War became the first non-segregated American war since the Revolution
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
Thurgood Marshall and the NAACPWarren CourtEnded public school segregation, “with all deliberate speed.”
Murder of Emmett Till, 1955
14-yr old boy from Chicago that spent the summer with his uncle in MississippiSpoke “freshly” to a white woman in a candy storeHis subsequent murder highlighted the Jim Crow South as a violent region in need of reform.
Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-56
On December 5, 1955, through the rain, the African Americans in Montgomery began to boycott the busses.40,000 Black commuters walked to work, some as far as twenty miles. The boycott lasted 382 days.
Rosa ParksRosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913. She grew up in Pine Level, Alabama, right outside of Montgomery.In the South, Jim Crow laws segregated African American’s and whites in almost every aspect of life.
• This included a seating policy on buses. White’s sat in the front, Blacks sat in the back.
• Buses also drove White students to school. Black students were forced to walk everyday.
Events Leading Up To Rosa’s Protest
Parks joined the Montgomery chapter of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1943.In 1944 Jackie Robinson refused to give up his bus seat in Texas.In 1955, Black Activist in Montgomery were building a case around Claudette Colvin, a 15 year old girl who refused to give up her seat on a bus. She was arrested and forcibly removed from the bus.African Americans made up 75% of the passengers in the Bus system but still had to deal with unfair rules.
The Arrest
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a White man on a bus.Parks was arrested and charged with the violation of a segregation law in The Montgomery City Code.50 African American leaders in the community met to discuss what to do about Rosa’s arrest.
“People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” - Rosa Parks
Martin Luther King Jr.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia.Graduated Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.Later, at Boston University, King received a Ph.D. in systematic theology.In 1953, at the age of 26, King became pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama.His start as a Civil Rights leader came during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Career As A LeaderIn 1955 he became involved in The Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Boycott was the start to his incredible career as the most famous leader of the Civil Rights movement.During The March On Washington he delivered one of the most famous speeches of 20th century titled, “I Have A Dream.”Won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Civil DisobedienceIn 1957 King helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). A group that used the authority
and power of Black churches to organize non-violent protest to support the Civil Rights Movement.
King believed in the philosophy used by Gandhi in India known as nonviolent civil disobedience.
The civil disobedience led to media coverage of the daily inequities suffered by Southern Blacks.
The televised segregation violence led to mass public sympathy. The Civil Rights Movement became the most important political topic during the early 60’s.
Ruby Bridges In 1960, at the age of 6, Ruby Bridges became
the first black elementary school child to attend a white school.
Due to White opposition of integration, Ruby needed to be escorted to school by federal marshals.
After Ruby entered the school, many of the teachers refused to teach and many of the White students went home.
Ruby went to school everyday.
The Problem We All Live With, By Norman Rockwell
Little Rock Nine, 1957
Littlerock, AR in 1957Test case for integration of public schoolsEisenhower reluctantly sent federal marshalsSouthern private school emerges
James Meredith and Ole Miss
Originally denied entry into the University of MississippiNAACP and Medgar Evers assisted Meredith.Robert Kennedy negotiated his entry in the fall of 1962Rejected the idea of the Civil Rights Movement as he felt he was just seeking out his rights as an American citizen.
Woolworth “Sit-In”Greensboro, NC in 1960
Began similar “sit-ins” organized by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Civil disobedience to restaurant segregation
Freedom RidersIn 1961 the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) declared Freedom SummerNorthern college students, organized by CORE, boarded buses and drove through the Jim Crow South to protest bus segregation.Attorney General Robert Kennedy was forced to step in and send federal marshals to stop the violence.
James Farmer (CORE)
Co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality in 1942.Organized and coined the term Freedom Riders in 1961Left the movement in 1966 due to growing militancyServed in Nixon’s cabinet
Murder of Medgar Evers, ‘63
College educated, Evers became involved in numerous Civil Rights organizations and boycotts (NAACP).Assisted in de-segregating Ole Miss and investigating the death of Emmitt TillShot in the back while distributing t-shirts that read, “Jim Crow must go.”His assassin was released after multiple hung juries
March On Washington
More than 250,000 Black and White Americans celebrated in a joyous day of song, prayer and speeches.
The march was lead by a group of important clergy men, civil rights leaders, and politicians.
Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech was the highlight of the day.
1963
I Have A Dream Speech
In a powerful speech, Martin Luther King Jr. stated eloquently that he desired a world were Blacks and whites to coexist equally.The speech used The Bible, The Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution and The Emancipation Proclamation as sources. He also used an incredible number of symbols in his poetic address.
Birmingham, 1963
April-May SCLC leads “Sit-ins” and protest marches through cityMay: Bull Connor releases fire hoses and attack dogs on protestersSeptember: 16th Street Baptist Church bombed, killing 4 young girls
"The events in Birmingham... have so increased the cries for equality that no city or state or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them."—President John F. Kennedy, June 1963
Letter From a Birmingham
Jail
King, wrote the letter after being arrested at a peaceful protest in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter was in response to a letter sent to him
by eight Alabama Clergymen called, “A Call For Unity.”
The men recognized that injustices were occurring in Birmingham but believed that the battles for freedom should be fought in the courtroom in not in the streets.
In the letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King justified civil disobedience by saying that without forceful action, true civil rights would never be achieved. Direct action is justified in the face of unjust laws.
Letters From a Birmingham Jail (cont.)
In the letter King justifies civil disobedience in the town of Birmingham. “I cannot sit idly in Atlanta and not be concerned
about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“There can be no gain saying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts.”
“Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.”
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.
“Wait has almost always meant 'never.‘”
Civil Rights Act of 1964Emulated the Civil Rights Act of 1875Banned discrimination in public accommodationsGuaranteed voting rightsLacked jurisdiction in private industriesJFK and LBJ’s efforts
Freedom Summer, 1964Organized by SNCC and CORE to register Mississippi blacks for votingIn 10 weeks:• 3 workers murdered• 4 critically wounded• 80 workers beaten• 1,000 arrested• Over 60 buildings
destroyedEffects1. showed the reality of Jim Crow South to non-Southerners2. forced DC to address black voter suppression3. catalyst for militantism
Voting Rights Act, 1965
Echoed 15th AmendmentGave federal oversight of electionsCompleted Civil Rights reform in Washington, DC
“We have lost the South for a generation.”
--LBJ
The Movement Goes Militant
SCLC and MLK struggle to keep supportSNCC and other organizations go militantBlack Panthers and Nation of Islam emergeGenerational gap in the movement: non-violent vs. militancy: baby boomers reject parents
Malcolm XX Born in Omaha Nebraska, Malcolm Little
was the son of a Baptist preacher who urged Blacks to stand up for their rights.
X His father was killed by White Supremacist in Michigan, in 1931.
X After time, Malcolm moved to Harlem where he became involved in gambling, drug dealing and robbery.
X Malcolm Was Arrested at the age of 20 for armed robbery. In jail he studied the teaching of theElijah Muhammad.
Elijah MuhammadX Elijah Muhammad was the
leader of the mostly Black political and religious group The Nation Of Islam.
His teachings, often perceived as racist, preached complete separation from Whites in society.
He often expressed the idea the Blacks were the first people to rule the world and that the Whites tricked them out of power and oppressed them.
Young Malcolm X developed his adept speaking skills and political ideas under the direction of Elijah Muhammad.
Nation Of Islam
X The Nation Of Islam (NOI) was an activist group that believed that most African slaves were originally Muslim.
X The NOI urged African Americans to reconvert to Islam in effort to restore the heritage that was stolen from them.
X The NOI wanted to create a second Black nation within the United States.
X The “X” in Malcolm’s name symbolizes the rejection of his slave name.
Prominent Black MuslimsCassius Clay, upon winning Heavyweight Championship in 1964, announces he is now Muhammad Ali• Refuses the draft in 1967.
Does not fight again until 1971.
• Left NOI in 1975
Lew Alcindor, 3-time NCAA player of the year, converted and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.• Kareem retired as the all-
time leading scorer in NBA history.
Malcolm X: The Activist
X Malcolm X made constant accusations of racism and demanded violent actions of self defense.
X He constantly retold the injustices his people suffered in the past.
X Malcolm X gathered wide spread admiration from African Americans and wide spread fear from Whites.
Malcolm X Speaks, 1965X “Be peaceful, be
courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.”
X “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.”
X “You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”
Tension In The Nation Of Islam
X By the start of the 60’s Tension was growing in The Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was exposed to
rumors that Elijah Muhammad had indulged in extramarital affairs. Adultery is shunned in
the Muslim doctrine.X Malcolm believed that
Elijah Muhammad was jealous of his increasing popularity.
X The Nation of Islam blamed Malcolm X for his controversial remarks regarding John F. Kennedy Jr.
The JFK ControversyX After the assassination of
John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X made a speech. Malcolm claimed that the
violence Kennedy failed to prevent ended up to come back and claim his life.
He stated that assassination was an example of “the chickens coming home to roost"
He later stated, "Chickens coming home to roost never made me sad. It only made me glad."
This comment led to widespread public dismay.
Pilgrimage to MeccaX In 1964, during a pilgrimage to
Mecca, Malcolm discovered that orthodox Muslims preach equality among races.
X Malcolm’s new knowledge and growing distrust with the NOI, caused him to desert his argument that all Whites are the devil.
X Malcolm X never abandoned his theory that Racism had destroyed the nation and that only Blacks could free themselves.
X In 1965 Malcolm X was
assassinated by a Black Muslim at a New York City rally.
Malcolm X Quotes (On King)
X He got the peace prize, we got the problem.... If I'm following a general, and he's leading me into a battle, and the enemy tends to give him rewards, or awards, I get suspicious of him. Especially if he gets a peace award before the war is over.
X I'll say nothing against him. At one time the whites in the United States called him a racialist, and extremist, and a Communist. Then the Black Muslims came along and the whites thanked the Lord for Martin Luther King.
X I want Dr. King to know that I didn't come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King.
X Dr. King wants the same thing I want -- freedom!
Black PowerBlack Power, popularized by Carmichael, is a term that emphasizes racial pride and the desire for African Americans to achieve equality.The term promotes the creation of Black political and social institutions.
Stokely Carmichael
Many SNCC members were becoming critical of leaders that articulated non-violent responses to racism.Carmichael left the U.S. for Africa in the late 1960s
Tommie Smith and John Carlos
Tommie Smith and John Carlos give the Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics.The two men were suspended by the United States team and banned from Olympic village.The action is considered a milestone of The Civil Rights Movement.
Black Panther Party
U.S. African American Militant group.Founded in 1966 in Oakland.Led by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.Believed violent revolution was the only way to receive freedom.Urged African Americans to arm themselves.Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice and service as Minister of Information (3rd in power)
The Violent PanthersIn the late 60’s party
leaders got involved in violent confrontations with the police. The result was death
on both sides.
Huey Newton was tried in 1967 for killing a police officer.Black Panther activist Bobby Seale, was a member of the Chicago Eight. A group of eight
people who disrupted the 1968 Democratic convention.
ConclusionDuring The American Civil Rights Movement many different and unique leaders and groups came to power.Some preached violence, some preached peace, some preached protest and some preached resilience.However, every leader had one thing in common. They all wanted freedom and they all wanted equality for their race.The movement moved more militant and violent as opposition to the Vietnam War increased. By the late 1960s the protest was inseparable. This may have assisted in racial equality in the long-term but ended political successes like the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965)
We Shall OvercomeIn August 1963, folksinger Joan Baez
memorably led a crowd of 300,000 in singing "We Shall Overcome" at the Lincoln Memorial
during the March on Washington
President Lyndon Johnson used the phrase "we shall overcome" in addressing Congress
on March 15, 1965, following violent, “Bloody Sunday" attacks on civil rights demonstrators during the Selma to Montgomery March, thus
legitimizing the protest movement.
Farm workers in the United States later sang the song in Spanish during strikes and grape
boycotts of the late 1960s.
Essential Question
Which movement was more effective:
Non-violent or Black Power?
